In order to comply with new tax laws pertaining to digital goods, the prices for games on Steam, one of the largest marketplaces for PC games may increase in some countries.
This hike will be in the form of a sales tax that will be included in the game price displayed on the store. This was revealed in an email by Valve, sent out to developers. It also outlined all the countries affected by the price change along with the percentage of the of tax, as well as the months in which these changes will go live.
March
- Switzerland 8%
- South Korea 10%
- Japan 8%
- New Zealand 15%
- Iceland 24%
- South Africa 14%
- India 15%
April
- Serbia 20%
May
- Taiwan 5%
July
- Australia 10%
The email does not outright point to the increase in prices. It says, “This means the customer will pay the price displayed on the storefront, and the tax will be separated out afterwards.” Meaning that the total price inclusive of the tax will be displayed on the store, and the tax percentage will be shown while checking out.
This does not necessarily mean that prices for all the games will see a hike, as it is possible that some developers might decide to absorb the tax (or some part of it), and hence not increase the price of their games. If that happens, the same game could end up having different prices for different countries, based on the tax percentage and the publisher. Nevertheless, if you were saving up to buy a game soon, you might have to move up those plans.
Register with us for the best in gaming, and join us for video game discussions on our forums.
Darren Rodrigues
This is something that has really bummed me out. Steam games here are quite cheaper and well I wished they stayed that way. I wish the money went to the developers instead of being tax because that would’ve at least helped their sales.